A study on non-equilibrium dynamics in classical and quantum systems

The theory of statistical mechanics provides a powerful conceptual framework within which the relevant (macroscopic) features of systems at equilibrium can be described. As there is currently no equivalent capable of encompassing the much richer class of non-equilibrium phenomena, research in this direction proceeds mainly on an instance-by-instance basis. The aim of this Thesis is to describe in some detail three such attempts, which involve different dynamical aspects of classical and quantum systems. As summarised below, each of the last three Chapters of this document delves into one of these different topics, while Chapter 2 provides a brief introduction on the study of non-equilibrium dynamics. In Chapter 3 we investigate the purely relaxational dynamics of classical critical ferromagnetic systems in the proximity of surfaces, paying particular attention to the effects that the latter induce on the early stages of the evolution following an abrupt change in the temperature of the sample. When the latter ends close enough to the critical value which separates the paramagnetic from the ferromagnetic phase, it effectively introduces a temporal boundary which can be treated as if it were a surface. Within this picture, we highlight the emergence of novel effects near the effective edge formed by the intersection of the two spatial and temporal boundaries. Our findings are apparently in disagreement with previous predictions which were based on the assumption that the presence of such an edge would not affect the scaling behaviour of observables; in order to explain this discrepancy, we propose an alternative for the original power-counting argument which, at least, correctly predicts the emergence of novel field-theoretical divergences in our one-loop calculations. We show that said singularities are associated with the scaling at the edge. Moreover, by encoding our findings in a boundary renormalisation group framework, we argue that the new predicted behaviour represents a universal feature associated to the short-distance expansion of the order parameter of the transition near the edge; we also calculate explicitly its anomalous dimension at the first-order in a dimensional expansion. As a qualitative feature, this anomalous dimension depends on the type of phase transition occurring at the surface. We exploit this fact in order to provide numerical support to our predictions via Monte Carlo simulations of the dynamical behaviour of a three-dimensional Ising model. The main results reported in Chap. 3 have appeared in Ref. [1]. In Chapter 4 we revisit the Euclidean mapping to imaginary times which has been recently proposed [2, 3] as an alternative for approaching the problem of quantum dynamics following a quench. This is expected to allow one to reformulate the original problem as a static one confined in a film geometry. We show that this interpretation actually holds only if the initial state of the dynamics is pure. Statistical mixtures, instead, intertwine the effects due to the two boundaries, which therefore cannot be regarded as being independent. We emphasize that, although the aforementioned reinterpretation as a confined static problem fails, one is still able, in principle, to write down and solve the corresponding equations. We also discuss in some detail the relation between this approach and the real-time field-theoretical one which makes use of the two-time Keldysh contour. For this purpose, we study the analytical structure of relevant observables \u2014 such as correlation functions \u2014 in the complex plane of times, identifying a subdivision of this domain into several sectors which depend on the ordering of the imaginary parts of the involved time coordinates. Within each of these subdomains, the analytic continuation to the real axis provides in principle a different result. This feature allows one to reconstruct from the Euclidean formalism all possible non-time-ordered functions, which in particular include all those which can be calculated via the Keldysh two-time formalism. Moreover, we give a prescription on how to retrieve response functions, discussing some simple examples and rationalising some recent numerical data obtained for one of these observables in a one-dimensional quantum Ising chain [4]. We also highlight the emergence of a light-cone effect fairly similar to the one previously found for correlation functions [2], which therefore provides further confirmation to the fact that information travels across the system in the form of the entanglement of quasi-particles produced by the quenching procedure. We have reported part of this analysis in Ref. [5]. Chapter 5 presents part of our recent work on effective relaxation in quantum systems following a quench and on the observed prethermalisation. We analyse the effects caused by the introduction of a long-range integrability-breaking interaction in the early stages of the dynamics of an otherwise integrable quantum spin chain following a quench in the magnetic field. By employing a suitable transformation, we redefine the theory in terms of a fully-connected model of hard-core bosons, which allows us to exploit the (generically) low density of excitations for rendering our model exactly solvable (in a numerical sense, i.e., by numerically diagonalising an exact matrix). We verify that, indeed, as long as the parameters of the quench are not too close to the critical point, the low-density approximation captures the dynamical features of the elementary operators, highlighting the appearance of marked plateaux in their dynamics, which we reinterpret as the emergence of a prethermal regime in the original model. As expected, the latter behaviour is reflected also on extensive observables which can be constructed as appropriate combinations of the mode populations. For these quantities, the typical approach to the quasi-stationary value is algebraic with exponent a 48 3, independently of the size of the system, the strength of the interaction and the amplitude of the magnetic field (as long as it is kept far from the critical point). The plateaux mentioned above last until a recurrence time \u2014 which can be approximately identified with tR 48 N/2 for single modes and t\u2032R 48 N/4 for extensive quantities \u2014 after which quantum oscillations due to the finite size of the chain reappear. Our procedure allows us to shed some light over prethermal features without having to considerably limit the size of the system, which we can choose to be quite large, as we discuss in Ref. [6]

Critical relaxation and the combined effects of spatial and temporal boundaries

We revisit here the problem of the collective non-equilibrium dynamics of a classical statistical system at a critical point and in the presence of surfaces. The effects of breaking separately space- and time-translational invariance are well understood, hence we focus here on the emergence of a non-trivial interplay between them. For this purpose, we consider a semi-infinite model with O(n)-symmetry and purely dissipative dynamics which is prepared in a disordered state and then suddenly quenched to its critical temperature. We determine the short-distance behaviour of its response function within a perturbative approach which does not rely on any a priori assumption on the scaling form of this quantity

Prethermalization from a low-density Holstein-Primakoff expansion

We consider the non-equilibrium dynamics arising after a quench of the transverse magnetic field of a quantum Ising chain, together with the sudden switch-on of a long-range interaction term. The dynamics after the quantum quench is mapped onto a fully-connected model of hard-core bosons, after a suitable combination of a Holstein-Primakoff transformation and of a low-density expansion in the quasi-particles injected by the quench. This mapping holds for a broad class of initial states and for quenches which do not cross the critical point of the transverse field Ising model. We then study the algebraic relaxation in time of a number of observables towards a metastable, pre-thermal state, which becomes the asymptotic steady state in the thermodynamic limit

Localization in spin chains with facilitation constraints and disordered interactions

Quantum many-body systems with kinetic constraints exhibit intriguing relaxation dynamics. Recent experimental progress in the field of cold atomic gases offers a handle for probing collective behavior of such systems, in particular for understanding the interplay between constraints and disorder. Here we explore a spin chain with facilitation constraints-a feature which is often used to model classical glass formers-together with disorder that originates from spin-spin interactions. The specific model we study, which is realized in a natural fashion in Rydberg quantum simulators, maps onto an XX-chain with non-local disorder. Our study shows that the combination of constraints and seemingly unconventional disorder may lead to interesting non-equilibrium behaviour in experimentally relevant setups. Introduction-Localization phenomena in many-body quantum systems are currently under extensive investigation. Initially, localization was discussed by Anderson [1] for non-interacting quantum particles in disordered potential landscapes. Since then the focus has increasingly shifted to the many-body domain, partially fueled by the development of refined techniques to experimentally engineer and probe many-body systems with cold atoms [2]. By now, evidence has been found that in isolated , one-dimensional, interacting systems the presence of disorder induces a phase transition from a thermal to a many-body localized one where ergodicity breaks down [3-20]; for reviews see [21-23]. Experiments [20, 24-26] have confirmed theoretical predictions, and signatures of MBL have also been identified in two-dimensional systems [27]. Aspects of MBL are also present in systems with weak periodic driving [28], in systems with disordered interactions [29, 30] as well as in systems coupled to an environment [31-36]. A second mechanism for interesting quantum relaxation is via constraints in the dynamics. In analogy with what occurs in models of classical glasses [37], quantum systems with kinetic constraints can display very slow and complex relaxation [38-40] and can be used to probe the emergence of MBL-like physics in the absence of disorder [41-51]. Hamiltonians with kinetic constraints can display particular many-body eigenstates that generalize the concept of quantum scars to interacting systems [52-55]. Constraints can further impose restrictions on the quantum dynamics either by removing states from the Hilbert space and/or by cutting off transition pathways between states. Supplemented by the presence of disorder , it is expected that constrained systems become very prone to localisation [56]. Here we are interested in understanding localization in disordered spin chains in the presence of facilitation kinetic constraints. Such a scenario was recently realized experimentally [57] within an optical lattice quantum simulator consisting of individually trapped Rydberg atoms [58-61]. Here atoms are excited in a way tha

Signatures of Associative Memory Behavior in a Multimode Dicke Model

© 2020 American Physical Society. Dicke-like models can describe a variety of physical systems, such as atoms in a cavity or vibrating ion chains. In equilibrium these systems often feature a radical change in their behavior when switching from weak to strong spin-boson interaction. This usually manifests in a transition from a "dark"to a "superradiant"phase. However, understanding the out-of-equilibrium physics of these models is extremely challenging, and even more so for strong spin-boson coupling. Here we show that the nonequilibrium strongly interacting multimode Dicke model can mimic some fundamental properties of an associative memory - a system which permits the recognition of patterns, such as letters of an alphabet. Patterns are encoded in the couplings between spins and bosons, and we discuss the dynamics of the spins from the perspective of pattern retrieval in associative memory models. We identify two phases, a "paramagnetic"and a "ferromagnetic"one, and a crossover behavior between these regimes. The "ferromagnetic"phase is reminiscent of pattern retrieval. We highlight similarities and differences with the thermal dynamics of a Hopfield associative memory and show that indeed elements of "machine learning behavior"emerge in the strongly coupled multimode Dicke model

Dynamics of strongly coupled disordered dissipative spin-boson systems

Spin-boson Hamiltonians are an effective description for numerous quantum few-and many-body systems such as atoms coupled to cavity modes, quantum electrodynamics in circuits and trapped ion systems. While reaching the limit of strong coupling is possible in current experiments, the understanding of the physics in this parameter regime remains a challenge, especially when disorder and dissipation are taken into account. Here we investigate a regime where the spin dynamics can be related to a Ising energy function defined in terms of the spin-boson couplings. While in the coherent weak coupling regime it is known that an effective description in terms of spin Hamiltonian is possible, we show that a similar viewpoint can be adopted in the presence of dissipation and strong couplings. The resulting dynamics features approximately thermal regimes, separated by out-of-equilibrium ones in which detailed balance is broken. Moreover, we show that under appropriately chosen conditions one can even achieve cooling of the spin degrees of freedom. This points towards the possibility of using strongly coupled dissipative spin-boson systems for engineering complex energy landscapes together with an appropriate cooling dynamics

Synthetic lattices, flat bands and localization in Rydberg quantum simulators

© 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. The most recent manifestation of cold Rydberg atom quantum simulators that employs tailored optical tweezer arrays enables the study of many-body dynamics under so-called facilitation conditions. We show how the facilitation mechanism yields a Hilbert space structure in which the many-body states organize into synthetic lattices which feature in general one or several flat bands and may support immobile localized states. We focus our discussion on the case of a ladder geometry for which we analyze the influence of disorder generated by the uncertainty of the atomic positions. The localization properties of this system are characterized through two length scales (localization lengths) which are found to display anomalous scaling behavior at certain energies. Moreover, we discuss the experimental preparation of an immobile localized state, and analyze disorder-induced propagation effects

Disorder enhanced quantum many-body scars in Hilbert hypercubes

We consider a model arising in facilitated Rydberg chains with positional disorder which features a Hilbert space with the topology of a d-dimensional hypercube. This allows for a straightforward interpretation of the many-body dynamics in terms of a single-particle one on the Hilbert space and provides an explicit link between the many-body and single-particle scars. Exploiting this perspective, we show that an integrability-breaking disorder enhances the scars followed by inhibition of the dynamics due to strong localization of the eigenstates in the large disorder limit. Next, mapping the model to the spin-1/2 XX Heisenberg chain offers a simple geometrical perspective on the recently proposed Onsager scars [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 180604 (2020)], which can be identified with the scars on the edge of the Hilbert space. This makes apparent the origin of their insensitivity to certain types of disorder perturbations